"Engage the FTL drive," Raj commanded, his voice steady in the quiet calm of the bridge.
"Acknowledged," the serene voice of the AI, Daedalus, replied. "Spooling the Helios core to 110%. Quantum fold sequence initiated."
Outside the viewscreen, the familiar stars of the Sol system did not just blur; they twisted. Reality itself seemed to warp around the Phoenix's Ascent. Space folded in on itself, and the ship plunged into a tunnel of searing, kaleidoscopic light. Anya gripped the railing of her console, her knuckles white, her scientific mind struggling to comprehend the sheer physics-defying power she was witnessing. Raj, however, remained perfectly still in his commander's chair, feeling not disorientation, but a profound sense of homecoming. This was what the System had been preparing him for. This was his natural state.
The journey to their target—a star system designated by the System as Z-7, light-years from Earth—was scheduled to take seventy-two hours. For Anya, it was a whirlwind of discovery. She monitored the ship's performance, her mind reeling at technology that was millennia ahead of Earth's. She watched sensor data pour in, describing a dimension of travel that rewrote every textbook she had ever studied.
"The energy expenditure is almost zero," she murmured, looking at Raj. "You've solved interstellar travel, just like you solved the energy crisis. You could have been the undisputed ruler of Earth, a living god."
"Earth is a cradle, Anya," Raj replied, his eyes never leaving the swirling vortex on the viewscreen. "And humanity, in its current state, is too consumed by the games of the Meridian Council and the ghosts of its own past. You don't build a new future in a compromised environment. You build it on fresh ground."
On the third day, as they prepared for their arrival, Raj performed his daily check-in.
[ Daily Check-in Complete. ]
[ Colonial Starter Pack Granted ]
[ Reward 1: Prefabricated Bio-Dome - Mark I (Self-deploying, provides shelter and basic life support for 50 personnel) ]
[ Reward 2: Universal Resource Scanner (Ship-mounted module capable of deep-crust planetary analysis) ]
"Daedalus," Raj commanded, "integrate the new scanner module into the ship's primary sensors and run a full planetary scan of our destination, Zetros-b."
"Integration complete," the AI responded instantly. "Scanning now."
Moments later, the Phoenix's Ascent dropped out of the quantum fold with the silence and grace of a feather settling on glass. Before them, the viewscreen was filled with a new sky. A brilliant, orange-gold sun dominated the system. In the distance hung a gas giant ringed with crystalline ice. And directly ahead was their destination.
Zetros-b.
It was breathtaking. A world of swirling white clouds, deep turquoise oceans, and continents of a rich, terracotta red. It was undeniably alien, yet vibrantly, impossibly alive.
Daedalus's voice filled the bridge. "Scan complete. Atmosphere is a nitrogen-oxygen mix, fully breathable. Biosphere is dense with unknown, non-sentient flora and fauna. Sub-crustal analysis reveals vast deposits of titanium, lithium, and several unknown super-hard metals. The planet is a paradise."
"Take us into a low orbit, Daedalus," Raj ordered. "Find a suitable landing zone."
The ship descended, revealing the planet's wonders. They flew over vast forests of violet-colored, crystalline trees and herds of six-legged grazers moving across crimson plains. Raj selected their destination: a wide, flat plateau overlooking one of the turquoise oceans, bordered on one side by the violet forest.
With no sonic boom or fiery re-entry, the Phoenix's Ascent sliced through the alien sky and settled onto the plateau as gently as a falling leaf. For a long moment, silence reigned on the bridge.
Then, with a hiss of hydraulics, the main exit ramp began to lower.
The air that wafted in was sweet, filled with the scent of alien pollen and the salt of a sea that had never known humanity. Raj stood at the top of the ramp, the light of a new sun on his face. Anya stood beside him, her expression one of utter wonder.
He took a breath, and then a step, his boots touching the rich red soil of the new world. He was the first human to ever stand on a planet outside of his home system. The first king of a new dominion.
He looked out at the pristine, unclaimed paradise before him.
"Earth was the tutorial," he said, his voice quiet but echoing with the weight of destiny. "Now, the real game begins."